Jury sides with defendants in K2 wrongful death lawsuit

Synthetic marijuana did not cause a Royal Oak man’s suicide, an Oakland County Circuit Court jury ruled.

Jurors deliberated for nearly four hours before ruling in favor of the defendants in a lawsuit filed by the family of John Anthony Sdao.

Sdao, 20, killed himself in April 2012 after smoking the substance. His family sought an undisclosed sum, but included more than $2 million in their son’s potential future earnings in a list of damages.

Attorneys for the defendants praised the verdict, which followed a trial that lasted nearly two weeks.

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“We were pleased with the result, and I guess we’re not surprised,” said Lee Ann Rutila, who represented Yassmine Wholesalers, the distributors of the product.

“They were basically unable to say that the suicide really wouldn’t have happened otherwise. It could have happened with or without the K2. They couldn’t put that as being the contributing factor.”

Dean Kallas, who represented the gas station that was accused of selling the product to Sdao, agreed.

“It always appeared that the suicide was unrelated to the product, and that’s been our defense all along, and that’s why I believe the jury came to the conclusions they came to,” he said.

It also was not clear that the Mobil gas station at 12 Mile and Campbell sold the product to Sdao that day, Kallas said.

James Rasor, who represents the Sdao family, vowed to appeal the verdict.

“For too many years, now, retailers and distributors of so-called synthetic marijuana have tried to dodge the law and their moral responsibilities while continuing to sell these dangerous products to the public, but especially to impressionable teens and young adults,” Rasor stated.

“Whatever street name these products are called: Spice, K2, synthetic marijuana; they are a menace to everyone who purchases them, and to the communities in which they are sold.”

At the time of Sdao’s death, it was legal to sell the substance, but its sale has since been banned by state law. Rasor said the evidence at trial “showed there have been thousands of emergency room visits caused by these products, a host of suicides, and permanent cognitive damage of young adults.”

He plans to appeal the issue as a case of first impression, meaning the exact issue has not been previously addressed by an appeals court and there is no case law or binding authority on the matter.

“Although there are several points of law that will need to be clarified in the Court of Appeals in this case of first impression in Michigan, the jury verdict made it clear that the retailer and distributor of these products engaged in unfair, unconscionable and deceptive practices in the sale of and marketing of these products,” Rasor stated.

Rutila said that could be a difficult appeal for Rasor to win.

“I totally understand why they’re attempting to do that, but it’s almost as if they’re trying to put a square peg in a round hole, trying to make this case fit into the consumer protection act where the relief they’re seeking doesn’t apply to a wrongful death.

“This is a tragic death and I told the jury same thing. I understand why we’re here. Somebody wants to place the blame, and I get it, but I think there needs to be some sort of personal accountability on behalf of the young man in this case.”